Orconectes

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Cladus: Pancrustacea
Superclassis: Multicrustacea
Classis: Malacostraca
Subclassis: Eumalacostraca
Superordo: Eucarida
Ordo: Decapoda
Subordo: Pleocyemata
Infraordo: Astacidea
Superfamilia: Astacoidea

Familia: Cambaridae
Genus: Orconectes
Subgenera: O. (Buannulifictus) – O. (Crockerinus) – O. (Gremicambarus) – O. (Hespericambarus) – O. (Orconectes) – O. (Procericambarus)
Overview of species

O. castaneus – O. cyanodigitus – O. limosus – O. occidentalis – O. rusticus – O. sheltae – O. sloani – O. texanus – O. yanahlindus
References

Johnson, D.P. 2010: Four new crayfishes (Decapoda: Cambaridae) of the genus Orconectes from Texas. Zootaxa, 2626: 1–45. Preview
Taylor, C.A., Rhoden, C.M. & Schuster, G.A. 2016. A new species of crayfish in the genus Orconectes (Decapoda: Cambaridae) from the Tennessee River Drainage with comments on and key to members of the O. juvenilis Species Complex. Zootaxa 4208(2): 161–175. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4208.2.4. Reference page.

Orconectes is a genus of cave dwelling freshwater crayfish, endemic to suitable habitats in the eastern United States. Surface dwelling species, formerly categorised here, were moved to Faxonius in 2017.[1]

Due to their subterranean habitat, they are usually depigmented, often blind, and are long-lived. Ages of 176 years have been claimed for O. australis, though this was reduced to ≤22 years in a 2012 study.[2]
Taxonomy

The genus Orconectes was erected in 1872 by Edward Drinker Cope to house Astacus pellucidus (now Orconectes pellucidus) and his new species, Orconectes inermis.[3]

Prior to the 2017 review by Oxford university, the genus contained 85 species in 11 subgenera. The Faxonius subgenus was raised to a full genus, and the majority of species formerly recorded as Orconectes were moved there. Following the review, approximately 8 species are known:[1]
O. pellucidus (Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, USA)

Scientific name Authority Common name Red List status[4] Type locality
O. australis (Rhoades, 1941) southern cave crayfish LC Shelta Cavern, Madison County, Alabama
O. barri Buhay & Crandall, 2008 Cumberland Plateau cave crayfish DD Tonya's Cave, Wayne County, Kentucky
O. incomptus Hobbs & Barr, 1972 Tennessee cave crayfish VU Cherry Cave, Jackson County, Tennessee
O. inermis Cope, 1872 ghost crayfish LC Wyandotte Caves, Crawford County, Indiana
O. i. testii (Hay, 1891) unarmed crayfish LC Mayfield's Cave, Monroe County, Indiana
O. packardi Rhoades, 1944 Appalachian cave crayfish EN Cumberland Crystal Cave, Pulaski County, Kentucky
O. pellucidus (Tellkampf, 1844) Mammoth Cave crayfish LC Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky
O. sheltae Cooper & Cooper, 1997 Shelta cave crayfish CR Shelta Cave, Madison County, Alabama
O. stygocaneyi Hobbs III, 2001 Caney Mountain cave crayfish LC Mud Cave, Caney Mountain Conservation Area, Ozark County, Missouri
References

Keith A Crandall; Sammy De Grave. "An updated classification of the freshwater crayfishes (Decapoda: Astacidea) of the world, with a complete species list". The Crayfish and Lobster Taxonomy Browser. Oxford University Press.
Michael P. Venarsky (2012). "Re-examining extreme longevity of the cave crayfish Orconectes australis using new mark–recapture data: a lesson on the limitations of iterative size-at-age models". Freshwater Biology. 57 (7): 1471–1481. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2427.2012.02812.x.
Keith A. Crandall; James W. Fetzner, Jr.; Horton H. Hobbs, Jr. (2001). "Orconectes Cope, 1872". Tree of Life Web Project.
"Search". IUCN Red List. IUCN. Retrieved August 21, 2022.